Sunday, January 10, 2010

Off to Dart Hut on a wee holiday

I'm on holiday this week and I'm off with my son Dougal [now 17] and his mates to do a Rees/Dart tramp tomorrow, and we may just sneak over the pass before the next rain storm, and depending on this it could mean I'd be back early, or late if we come down the Dart, which is quite a long walk.

Dart hut is sort of in the middle of our circular trip, and it's been a few years since I've graced it's doorstep. There'll be no skis this trip though - not antiques like these found in the old hut in the seventies, or when I carried my own out from the Whitbourne and down the Dart. This time I hope to travel with both the lightness of body and of the [summer] day.

Yes we went in on the backend of a southerly and caught just the right weather for the crossing of the pass at about 1400 meters. It was incredibly wet underfoot everywhere though, and very annoying on the grass flats in the Rees where it was ankle deep for many Kms over what was normally grass pasture.

I suffered somewhat with a pack too heavy as we took heaps of food and tentage in case we got caught between side streams, given the volatile weather patterns of late, and this gave me cause to ponder on the more than superficial pain you've endured of late. However I continue to hear only good outcomes re joint replacements, so hang on in there my friend - the wait will be worth it.